Christian Laettner's jersey from The Shot will fetch at least six figures. (AP Photos)

Thing is, Laettner has not made one public comment about the sale. There may be a reason for that: Laettner is not the one selling the jersey.

To hear Leland’s chairman Josh Leland Evans tell it, the seller is a college buddy of Laettner’s who got the famed jersey simply by asking the former Duke star for it. Leland Evans says the seller has had it in his home office for years but now decided to sell it. The reserve price on the jersey is set at $100,000, which means the item cannot be sold for anything less.

Given that Team USA captain Mike Eruzione’s Miracle on Ice jersey sold last year at auction for nearly $657,000 last February, that $100K threshold should be easily met and make the seller some nice coin.

“Everything stops when you get those calls,” says Leland Evans, knowing full well the history involved with The Shot.

As well he should. Leland Evans was among those watching the game, and as a sports fan with no real rooting interest in the game, he was simply pulling for a great finish. Now his company stands to make 15 percent off whatever price the jersey fetches, as the jersey is being sold on consignment.

Which makes you wonder: Could Laettner really be happy that his buddy is selling the jersey?

“I have no way of knowing, but I think it’s a tough thing,” Leland Evans said. “Whether or not he’s happy or not or unhappy, it’s still gotta be tough to see something you gave away to be worth six figures. That’s really difficult.”

The world will find out just what the jersey is truly worth to someone on Friday, when the bidding closes. Leland Evans expects the action to go well into the night.

Laettner went on to make over $61 million in a 14-year NBA career, and presuming he is better with his money than Vince Young, he does not need the funds. But when your legacy is indeed tied to one game, one in which you hit all 10 field goals you attempted along with all 10 free throws for a game-high 31 points, a performance that sent your team to a fourth straight Final Four and a second straight national title, would you feel good about something you gave to a buddy being sold for a monumental profit?

Maybe Laettner doesn’t care, but we don’t know that. Multiple attempts by Sporting News to reach Laettner about the sale went unreturned.

But the fact that the seller wishes to remain anonymous raises the question—why be secretive about this unless you had something to hide or feared public backlash for selling it at all?